Feeling that Christmas Spirit

The past few weeks have been ridiculously busy. Not just the regular holiday season hustle and bustle, the kind of busy where you don't have time to sit or think or breathe. Probably one of the busiest times in my life. Being a mom to an active toddler is already busy enough. I also work from home and it's been a particularly hectic month at work. On top of that, I took on the job of coordinating a major charity event which is scheduled to take place at the end of December. Add the regular busyness of the holiday season plus the cake orders that I chose to take PLUS a nasty case of hand foot and mouth disease for my poor little Emma on to all of that and you have me, constantly on the verge of a panic attack, running around like a headless chicken. Needless to say, I found myself feeling extremely overwhelmed. 

The other day I looked at my calendar (which was still set to October) and was shocked when I realized that the first week in December had already passed by! I didn't have all of those wonderful, magical, spiritual, warm feelings of Christmas that I usually have this time of year. Although I'd been giving my time to others, I didn't feel good. I hadn't been taking care of myself, I hadn't been taking care of my family, and my spiritual, physical, and emotional health were all suffering. I needed to shift my focus. 

I resolved to spend the rest of the week enjoying the simple joys of the season and soaking in the moments with my family. All of the responsibilities were still there but, I wanted to find a better balance and focus more on those things that matter most to me. 

I was feeling a little discouraged by all of the pictures on social media of everyone's beautifully decorated trees and homes. The second week of December had already begun and my Christmas decor was still buried somewhere deep in a storage unit, gathering dust. I hadn't even had a moment to think about it. I decided that the next day would be the day to go on our annual family Christmas tree hunt. 

Emma just wanted to sit and eat snow in her giant marshmallow suit.

Note the golf ball-sized snowballs hanging from Daisy's fur.
She loves to frolic in the snow.

Poor Emma started to feel sick as we hunted for the tree so we didn't take our time but, we got our tree. It was imperfect, as real trees are, but beautiful and it smelled so lovely. I was excited to have a cozy evening at home decorating. It's one of my favorite nights of the year. It was somewhere between sips of hot cocoa, setting out the nativity, Bing Crosby's "Marshmallow World", and trimming the tree that I started to feel it-the Christmas spirit. I started to feel the excitement of experiencing all of these traditions with Emma this year. I felt warm as I held Emma up to get a better look at baby Jesus in his manger and then snuggled up on the couch to read her the first Christmas story of the year. I felt better than I had in a while. Thank heaven for Christmas. 

The rest of the weekend was spent at home, together with the four of us, listening to Christmas music, wrapping gifts, guzzling hot cocoa and cider, sitting by the tree, and watching Charlie Brown's Christmas and Frosty the Snowman. A wonderful weekend and a much needed break from the crazy whirlwind that has been my life. Emma didn't feel well which wasn't fun but, it also meant that I got double the amount of snuggles and I soaked it up. 

Emma started to feel much better today so this evening we decided to venture out on a drive to see the lights. We had heard about a neighborhood called "Christmas Lane" that was supposed to be a really great place to see Christmas lights in Cedar City. We've lived here for 5 years now and I couldn't believe we'd never heard of it! It was so neat! There were large signs in every yard with ordered sections of the poem, "'Twas The Night Before Christmas" and the whole neighborhood was decked with lights and creative Christmas displays! A gingerbread house in one yard, a huge blow up Santa in another. One home had Santa waving from the window, another had a life sized nativity in the yard. It was beautiful-so beautiful that we did the loop twice. I wish I had more pictures to share but I was caught up in the moment. 

I've been so grateful for the time with my family. I'm (obviously) not perfect at it but, I'm working on shifting my focus to the reason for the season and taking time to experience all of the simple things that I so love about this time of year. I may have gotten a late start but, the important thing is that I'm doing it. I had been so excited when I saw the church's Christmas message encouraging everyone to "light the world" this Christmas. The other day, I felt the guilt as I realized that I had not done one of the things on the list. It was late in the evening and I was sure that I wouldn't be able to do whatever was assigned for that day. I started to beat myself up as I pulled up the calendar on my phone so that I could continue to make myself miserable over what I hadn't made the time to do. I suddenly felt light as I looked at the assignment for the day, "Jesus prayed for others, and so can you." I could do that one! I could do it right then. It was simple, but prayer is powerful. I felt a taste of that wonderful, warm spirit of Christmas, the spirit of giving, as I fervently prayed for those I loved and those I knew were in need. 

I'm looking forward to experiencing a few more of my favorite wonderful holiday traditions this year. I'm looking forward to time spent with family, time spent in reflection, and time spent in service. I also have already begun working on my New Years Resolution: SIMPLIFY. Merry Christmas everybody! May you feel the saviors love and light this season.